Republican Linda McMahon and Democrat Richard Blumenthal are virtually tied in the Connecticut Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

McMahon trails Blumenthal, 46 percent to 49 percent — a 3-point difference that is within the poll’s margin of error. Only 4 percent of voters surveyed reported they were still undecided.

Blumenthal was considered a shoo-in for the open Connecticut Senate race earlier this year because of his high marks from voters as the state’s five-term attorney general. Blumenthal still has a high approval rating — 68 percent in the poll — but he is quickly losing ground in the Senate contest to the wealthy political newcomer.

A similar Quinnipiac University poll released two weeks ago showed Blumenthal with a 6-point lead, 51 percent to 45 percent, over McMahon.

"With five weeks to go, the Connecticut Senate race is very close. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is ahead by only a statistically insignificant 3 points,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz. “Blumenthal has to be concerned about Linda McMahon's momentum. He can hear her footsteps as she closes in on him.”

Blumenthal's campaign pushed back Tuesday with its own internal poll results showing the Democrat with a double-digit lead. The Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research survey showed Blumenthal leading McMahon, 52 percent to 40 percent, among 606 likely voters polled Sept. 20 to 23

The Quinnipiac poll shows that McMahon appears to have made up ground with independent voters, who now favor her over Blumenthal in the race, 49 percent to 44 percent. The Sept. 14 Quinnipiac Poll showed Blumenthal with a small edge among independent voters over McMahon, 47 percent to 46 percent.

McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has spent at least $22 million of her personal fortune to fuel her bid against Blumenthal. McMahon’s prolific spending has resulted in a massive advertising blitz that has blanketed Connecticut for months.

In the poll, 56 percent of those who have seen McMahon’s television ads called them annoying, and 54 percent of likely voters described the Republican’s ad campaign as excessive. Meanwhile, 49 percent of likely voters in the poll said Blumenthal's television advertising frequency has been just right.

But while McMahon has the lead among independent voters, survey results show Blumenthal is more popular among women voters. The poll showed that women back Blumenthal, 56 percent to 39 percent, while men pick McMahon, 52 percent to 44 percent.

President Barack Obama, who visited Connecticut earlier this month to fundraise for Blumenthal, has a 45 percent job approval rating – an unchanged number from the poll two weeks ago.

The Quinnipiac University poll surveyed 1,083 likely voters from Sept. 21 to 26 and had a margin of error of 3 points.